Industry News

With the towering bridges that span the Bosphorus choked by traffic, a new boat service from Uber aims to capitalise on Istanbul’s infamous road congestion.

In partnership with local sea transport company Navette the Uber Boat venture is unlikely to net a significant chunk of the company’s Turkey revenue, but it is further evidence of the strategy underpinning its offerings – making it easier to transport anything, in any way, by first booking a pickup through a mobile app.

“If we can get you a car in five minutes, we can get you anything in five minutes,” said Austin Kim, local operations manager for San Francisco-based Uber Technologies, speaking over the growl of the speedboat engine.

But Uber boats are more expensive than boats parked next to Bebek pier where prices can often be haggled down even further.

Kim declined to give a precise number of boat users since the service launched on June 25, but said it was more than 100 trips. He denied the excursions were primarily a marketing tool.

It says it offers its mobile phone taxi-hailing service in more than 300 cities, its prices varying according to demand.

Turkey’s young and tech-savvy population tends to be an early adopter of technology. On land, Uber must compete with a popular home-grown taxi app, Bitaksi.

Having launched in Istanbul a year ago, Uber says it clocks up tens of thousands of rides a month in the crowded city on the junction of Europe and Asia.

The company has faced a backlash and legal clampdown in countries ranging from India to South Korea to France, where last week it suspended its UberPOP ride-hailing service after it faced protests and local authorities denounced it as illegal.

Uber speed boats have capacity of six to eight people and can be used to reach Atakoy, near Istanbul’s main airport at a price of around 425 lira ($160) from a central pier, dodging hours of potential traffic jams over a distance of 17 km.

“It’s at the choke point that you really suffer,” Kim said, looking to one of the Bosphorus bridges. “You will not easily get onto that bridge in rush hour.”

Maersk Line has announced that it has ordered nine 14,000 TEU boxships from Hyundai Heavy Industries in a deal worth $1.1 billion.

The contract was signed at Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen by its COO, Søren Toft,and HHI COO Sam H. Ka. The nine boxships will enter service in 2017 and be registered under the Singaporean flag. The agreement includes an option for eight additional vessels.

Mearsk announced its newbuilding program last September, which committed $15 billion to upgrade its box fleet. The company intends to add eleven 19,630 TEU Triple-E ships and seven 3,600 TEU feeder vessels to modernize the fleet, which will increase efficiency and versatility.

Since 2002, Hyundai has delivered more than 50 boxships to Maersk Line including 22 WAFMAX 4,500 TUE ships, which entered the fleet between 2011 to 2013.

The crew of a Cambodian-flagged containership were rescued this morning (July 8) after the ship sank off Phuket, Thailand.

The 1,591 dwt Sinaran Andaman reported engine failure and was unable anchor. It also suffered a loss of power, which disabled the vessel’s communication equipment. Meanwhile, a strong monsoon drove the stranded vessel onto rocks at Koh Hae Island, where it sank around 10 am local time. The 10 crewmen were able to launch the ship’s lifeboat and used flares to alert passing ships.

The Royal Thai Navy got onscene and rescued three crewmembers by helicopter and the Marine Police recovered the other seven survivors. The many of the ship’s containers were tossed into surrounding rocks and shoreline as heavy waves washed over the deck of the capsized ship.

It is monsoon season in the region, and a fishing boat and barge have also sank in the same area. While all members of the fishing boat were recovered by the navy, search efforts continue for six crewmen that were onboard the sunken barge.

Local authorities have prohibited small vessels from sailing in the vicinity of Phuket as waves from six to thirteen feet are expected to continue to pound the area for the rest of the week.

Maersk Line of Denmark has contracted South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai HI (HHI) to build a new series of 14,000 teu box ships.
With pricing at USD137.5 million per vessel, the order covers nine firm ships and eight options.
The newbuilding contract was signed today (8 July) at Maersk’s head office

Fifteen years after their first business arrangement the ports of Marseille Fos and PortMiami have renewed the development of a mutual cruise and container relationship.

The new agreement was signed in Marseille by its port’s CEO, Christine Cabau Woehrel, and PortMiami’s director, Juan Kuryla. In 2014, PortMiami handled 4.8 million cruise passenger and Marseille is one of the top five Mediterranean cruise ports and its expected to handle about 1.5 million cruise visitors this year. The ports will examine how their different and complementary seasons can have an impact in each of their markets.

In addition, the ports have also decided to include container operations into the benefical anaylsis. Marseille is handled 1.17 million TEUs and PortMiami’s throughput was 877,000 TEUs in 2014. The potential for increased box trade between the ports was reinforced in 2014 with the Amerigo Express trade operated by CMA CGM, Hanjin and United Arab Shipping Corp, which rotates from India, the Middle East and U.S. East Coast.

The ports will also promote and share best practices on port security and on urban-port projects.

Fifteen years after their first business arrangement the ports of Marseille Fos and PortMiami have renewed the development of a mutual cruise and container relationship.

The new agreement was signed in Marseille by its port’s CEO, Christine Cabau Woehrel, and PortMiami’s director, Juan Kuryla. In 2014, PortMiami handled 4.8 million cruise passenger and Marseille is one of the top five Mediterranean cruise ports and its expected to handle about 1.5 million cruise visitors this year. The ports will examine how their different and complementary seasons can have an impact in each of their markets.

In addition, the ports have also decided to include container operations into the benefical anaylsis. Marseille is handled 1.17 million TEUs and PortMiami’s throughput was 877,000 TEUs in 2014. The potential for increased box trade between the ports was reinforced in 2014 with the Amerigo Express trade operated by CMA CGM, Hanjin and United Arab Shipping Corp, which rotates from India, the Middle East and U.S. East Coast.

The ports will also promote and share best practices on port security and on urban-port projects.

As the third anniversary of the entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) approaches, Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) is embarking on a comprehensive study on the effectiveness of the Convention. The study has been commissioned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. It will be an in-depth and... Read more →